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Sharp pen, sharper wit

At the height of Monicagate, David Horsey took on President Clinton.

The editorial cartoonist drew an devastating yet apt portrait of Bubba Clinton clad in socks and heart-print boxers, slouched in a lawn chair in front of a trailer, soda in hand and a cheeseburger resting on his gut, watching a TV rigged with a coat-hanger antenna.

The caption: Sure, Ill testify to Ken Starr, but only in a manner that preserves the dignity of the presidency!

Republicans have also been subjects of Horseys rapier wit; over 30 years, the two-time Pulitzer-winning cartoonist has lampooned local lights and national luminaries, political figures and causes from radical left to far right.

Ive always tried to maintain an independence, he said. I figure theres fools on all sides.

Horsey, began cartooning in Seattle public schools, drawing cowboys and Indians when hed finish assignments early.

His flair took him to the University of Washington, where he studied journalism and worked for the student newspaper. Horsey discovered he loved newspapers, but still didnt see a clear career path for cartooning.

But he kept drawing, and within a year of graduating with a degree in communications, Horsey was turning out cartoons for Bellevues Journal American. After working as a government reporter and political columnist in Olympia, he was hired by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

In 1986, Horsey took a break from cartoons; on a scholarship from the Rotary Foundation, he pursued a masters degree in international relations at Englands University of Kent at Canterbury, studies he says have enriched his cartoons.

Horsey also found he relished the autonomy of the editorial cartoonist.

Its a different, oddball thing, he said. Its like being a columnist, but even beyond that, because a columnist still has an editor who thinks things should be changed.

While content of his cartoons has ranged from the WASL tests to Seattle traffic, his favorite subject remains the president  and the larger than life, the better.

Reagan and Clinton were great, there was something big about them both, he said, but Carter and George Bush the First, theyre too life-like.

Although Horsey says he often receives negative letters from readers offended by his work, the subjects of his cartoons are flattered, rather than put off.

The people I draw, these are people with big egos, he said. They want signed copies of the cartoons. Its as if theyve made it if theyre the subject.

Like most editorial cartoonists, Horsey found his drawing style early and his work has remained quite consistent.

Typically theres no time for more development, he said. Every day Im trying to hit a deadline.

Nonetheless, his drawing style has become more refined, trading bold dark strokes for more delicate line  a change Horsey isnt always sure he likes.

The content of his recent work suffers from a parallel problem, Horsey says, because the price of increased sophistication is often a paralyzing ability to discern nuance.

My work is more informed, and in some ways thats made it harder, because Im seeing too much, he said. If you just see the big picture its easier. The grey areas really screw it up.

Over 30 years of cartooning, Horsey has seen the field change. There are, he says, fewer and fewer editorial cartoonists nationwide, a change he attributes to newspapers corporate culture. But current state of the world  and particularly the current administration  is heaven for Horsey, because he finds no lack of subject matter.

The only drawback, he says, is that he is losing his neutrality.

I find with our current president, for better or worse, I cant find a single thing I agree with him about, Horsey said. So that makes my work unbalanced.

Horsey won Pulitzer Prizes in 1999 and 2003, but hes typically modest about the honor.

In 1999, I felt like I was getting away with something, he said. This year, it struck me that maybe I was doing something right... Once in a while I get sick of doing it, but then I remember what a great job this is. Basically its a lot of fun.

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Horseys mouth

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer David Horsey will give a multi-media presentation at 7:30 p.m. March 15 in the Bainbridge High School LGI room. The event is part of the 2004 Humanities Inquiry Breaking News: The State of Todays Information Media, sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors at the door. Information: 842-7901, or www.artshum.org.

A free exhibit on the history of American political cartoons from 1754 to the present is on display through March 31 in the Bainbridge Library meeting room.

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